In a surprise for some analysts, Lehman said it was seeking reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, a sign that it was still holding out hope for survival in some form.

The massive bankruptcy filing in US federal court in New York listed 639 billion dollars in assets at 613 billion in debts.

The news of Lehman's collapse prompted a bloodbath in global financial markets as traders flocked to safer Treasury bonds on fears of more dominoes falling in the banking system.

Some analysts said the Federal Reserve, which took a series of steps Sunday and Monday to boost liquidity available to the financial system may need to cut interest rates at its Tuesday policy meeting.

"The sudden bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers over the weekend has led to another dangerous escalation of the crisis in the US financial markets," said Brian Bethune, economist at Global Insight.

"The economy is very weak, the recession wolves are pounding down the door and the financial system faces new deflationary threats from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. This is an emergency situation and an aggressive response from the Fed is needed."

Lehman shares plunged 94 percent to 21 cents after the news. Meanwhile American International Group, one of the world's biggest insurance companies, slid 60 percent to 4.76 dollars on fears it may too face a cash crunch and credit downgrade.

Merrill Lynch, another white-shoe Wall Street firm, managed to get a lifeline over the weekend with a deal to sell itself for 50 billion dollars to Bank of America. Merrill shares rose 0.06 percent to 17.06 dollars.

The news came after a weekend of crisis talks involving US Treasury and Federal Reserve officials failed to head off a collapse of Lehman Brothers which some say could send shockwaves through the global financial system.

MORE AT THE LINK

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

Am I the only one who is utterly terrified about all of this? Why is our tax money bailing out all these idiots? Why did we just "back up" AIG? I am truly horrified by all of this. First fanny mae and now AIG.

_________________You can sing the praises of women all day long, but as long as you put a fertilized egg ahead of [their] welfare, you do not really care about them.-Dori 4/07

I feel the same way, lefty. Where does the US government get the billions it has used to bail out these huge conglomerates, fight a never ending war on several fronts, and continue to reduce the taxes paid by the uber-rich while maintaining a deficit that is of historical proportions?

Newsweek isn't one of my favorite magazines, but in it there is a pretty good report about this mess and what it will mean to us, the taxpayers:

Thanks for sharing that article, Cat. Somehow it only made me feel worse. Did you see the link to the article on the side of the page that was talking about how houses costing more than $5M have actually had a 31% increase in sales. Good to know them rich people are suffering like us regular folk.

_________________You can sing the praises of women all day long, but as long as you put a fertilized egg ahead of [their] welfare, you do not really care about them.-Dori 4/07

Welcome to the end of free market capitalism and the nationalization and enslavement of the entire American population. "Taxation without representation is tyranny" Sam Adams. With King GWB selling the American people into slavery due to the failure of his administrations foreign and domestic policies with his low approval rating is tantamount to tyranny. Unable to secure foreign or domestic investors in Fannie, Freddie, and AIG the administration sold Americans future in an attempt to insure global security for the rest of the world.

This futile course shall fail as all his leadership roles have failed. His administration has purchased the worlds largest insurance company. A company that insures the credit debt and guarantees the payment of future obligations of banks that fail. And trust that there will be many. And it is the stock holders of AIG that will pay these bad loans. The American Taxpayer. HELLO !!!!! So exactly who has been bailed out here ?

And here is the "Crown of Creation", in the longer run which is approaching at the speed of light there is only a limited way out and it is Hegelian to the extreme. It calls for a massive devaluation of the dollar, rising costs of all commodities, coupled with a severe depression and extreme poverty. And as in the past the only way out will be a war machine that engages the masses. A repeat of history except this time we are the Nazi Fascist Government that insures the turmoil.

I am taking bets the window is open. blink.gif
QUOTE
“America Is In Decline”

Translated By Ron Argentati

13 September 2008

Germany - Sueddeutsche Zeitung - Original Article (German)

Sociologist Richard Sennett explains to Sueddeutsche Zeitung’s Nikolaus Piper why Americans are losing faith in capitalism and the future of their country............

The United States as keeper of the Holy Grail of capitalism – those times appear to have disappeared. In an emergency, the basic tenets of capitalism are jettisoned. Nationalization, regulatory madness, more and more billions freely handed out: the strong state is on the march in the USA......

Now economist Nouriel Roubini complains that Fannie and Freddie’s de-facto nationalization is “the largest nationalization in the history of mankind". U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, Roubini wrote, has pulled off the “most radical change in global economics in a decade". He added, “Welcome to the United Socialist States of America.”.....

“Basically, the country is bankrupt,” concludes Kotlikoff. In the end, the government will have no alternative other than a massive devaluation of the dollar in order to make the debt more affordable.

“The only remarkable thing,” says Kotlikoff, “is that there are even any foreign investors still willing to buy American securities.”

In an interview with the First Financial Daily published on September 1, Li Xiangyang, deputy director of the World Economic and Political Research Department of the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), admitted that the subprime meltdown was a rude awakening for Chinese economists, who had long understated the risk of major global crises.

Li was referring to the fact that many Chinese economists adapted to Western neo-liberal theories in the 1990s, believing that the global recession in the 1970s and the Great Depression of 1929 were events of the past. “This conception has been dominating China’s economic circles for years,” Li said, adding that it had weakened an awareness of the emerging global downturn.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime turned to the capitalist market in 1978, the official Stalinist ideologues and academics have all but dropped their “socialist” window dressing and now openly serve the new capitalist elite. Dismissing the Marxist theory of capitalist breakdown as “outdated,” they claim that world capitalism has learned to regulate its contradictions and that the economic depressions, social revolutions and imperialist wars of the first half of the twentieth century will never return. Such arguments are now looking seriously flawed...

And what do the Russians think ???????????????
QUOTE
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is reporting in the Kremlin today that the Bank of England has received from the United States Federal Reserve Bank a ‘notice’ that President Bush is preparing to declare an ‘Economic Emergency’ during the week of October 5th and will further announce that the American Presidential election due to be held on November 4th will be ‘indefinitely suspended’.

These reports state that the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, had expressed his ‘shock and outrage’ to his American counterparts at the US Federal Reserve after the catastrophic collapse of one of the largest financial banks in the World, Lehman Brothers, and which caused both the Band of England and the European Central Bank to rush $42 billion into the European economy yesterday to keep it from collapsing, and their own banks from running out of money, necessitating the response from the US Central Bank leader Ben S. Bernanke. ................

Russian Military Analysts commenting on these reports state that though it is unlikely that the American President can suspend US elections solely on the basis of an Economic Emergency alone, it is entirely probable that he could do so should their Nation suffer another 9/11 type attack, and which they ‘cryptically’ observe could place as early as September 22nd as American Military Forces begin to conduct their World-Wide tests of their new nuclear alert system as they conduct another test of their so-called Star Wars Missile Defense System. ............

the scary thing i saw last night on olbermann was the fact that over the last 3 days our economy has lost roughly 3 trillion dollars.

say that again slowly....................

.............3 trillion dollars.

bottom line is, the old model of unfettered total deregulation that was started by ronald frickin reagan has finally caught up to us and brought about the collapse of our country in the likes of what we haven't seen since 1929.

10 billion a month alone spent in iraq while they have banks on our sole keeping accounts for them that totals near 40 billion dollars.

our infrastructure falling apart.

our health care system a shamble.

our mortgage and banking system a complete failure.

and the assholes on the other side are talking about frickin lipstick.

That's why some good thinking republicans need to redefine what "country first" means.

How the hell can a McNasty/Pailing administration juggle, Iraq, Afghanistan, and thoughts of invading Iran and the deal with the failing economy at the same time?

It's time to bring the focus home, people. I think we've wasted enough of everything outside of our country. It's not time to return to her and deal with all the problems at home. Country first, Johnny. Country first.

I agree, CZ...but guess what? That country first slogan is just empty words that look good to the average Joe Shmoe on the street. It makes Johnny look like he really cares. You and I know he could care less about his country. What Johnny loves, and what his new running mate has gotten a taste of, is POWER, and only POWER. Neither McSame nor Ms. Mooseburger is qualified for the job they're each trying to get...at any cost. They know it, but do they care? Not a bit...they'd just as soon eat worms laced with arcenic as to admit that they're both inept, dirty, lying, corrupt, neocon worshiping, Bush-Cheney ass licking, shit-for-brains idiots.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman